There was a time when the heat of July was just something one would expect in July. And August.
Little did we know, apparently, that what we were doing back in the day was laying the groundwork for what we suffer through currently. And now every hot day is tinged with a certain angst, brought on by constant reminders that this isn’t just Summer being Summer, but more the latest reminder that we are witnessing a dangerous warming of the planet because we’ve behaved badly, without regard or forethought. We’ve moved from ignorance and lack of awareness to knowing full well what we’re doing, and just not caring.
We’ve arrived at a point where excessive heat doesn’t come and go—it sticks around for days on end, with records being broken all the time, power grids taxed by relentless demand, vulnerable people dying, and still way too many who remain intentionally clueless as to why it’s all happening.
The summer of ’23 will go down as the one with the smoke and haze and heat, and chances are that people will little note nor long remember why, in no small part, it has unfolded this way.
3 Cents' 